TECHNOLOGY : ENTERTAINMENT
THE DIFFERENT PATHS HOTEL COMPANIES ARE TAKING ON IN-ROOM ENTERTAINMENT ALL LEAD TO MORE MOBILE INTEGRATION . contributed by BRENDAN MANLEY
Convergence among hotel companies in their efforts to integrate mobile devices into guestroom entertainment systems remains elusive . Fundamental issues like bandwidth and physical connectivity between mobile devices and TVs remain the main challenges . Waiting in the wings are legal and logistical concerns that arise once a guest wants to access their own subscription-based content from inside the hotel .
Some hotel companies say they are temporarily offering alternatives to bridge the gap until better solutions arrive , or choosing to delay addressing the issues at all until an industrywide consensus on the best method is determined . Meanwhile , consumer demand for integrated mobile products in hotel guestrooms that more closely resemble their home entertainment systems will continue to drive innovations among vendors .
“ It ’ s probably going to wind up that your smartphone is going to have such a powerful processor that you can drive everything you want ,” says Robert Cole , president and founder of RockCheetah , Menomonee Falls , Wisconsin . “ All you really need is a display and better sound , and you plug in your phone and it plays . That ’ s where things are going .”
Onyx Hospitality offers an in-room technology kit for connecting laptops , iPads and iPods to other devices , including the IPTV .
Need for speed Right now major players like Hilton Worldwide , Carlson and Accor are all putting a renewed emphasis on network infrastructure as the first step . An increasing amount of hotel management systems , in-room entertainment services and guest mobile devices all rely on connectivity , so supporting that traffic grows more critical by the year .
As the hardware requirements keep expanding , however , the return on investment for upgrades is murky . The industry is no closer to solving the debate over whether to charge guests for Internet to offset bandwidth costs , and tiered pricing methods are only beginning to gain traction .
Nevertheless , hotel companies are pressing ahead with upgrading infrastructure . “ We are refocusing on reliable , quality high-speed connectivity ,” says David Esseryk , vice president of consumer technology for Accor .
www . hotelsmag . com November 2013 HOTELS 71